I just called the Goodhue County GIS Department and asked if they had a open data policy. And what a fun phone conversation that was… “I’m just a worker, not a decision maker… Call the county surveyor, but good luck, she can’t change the policy…”. The last little fun fact he said “when you call a gis department and ask for data you should explain why you want it”. Thanks buddy…

So after living in the South Metro for the past three years, many counties have opened thier gis data for free! Dakota, Scott, Ramsey, etc. Numerous counties within the state still charge for the data, and it is not cheap. My goal for April is to contact as many counties within the state and try to get them to change their policies to open their gis data to the public. I understand there are pros and cons to this debate, but I am all for open data. Recently Wisconsin just published a state-wide parcel dataset (http://www.sco.wisc.edu/wisconsin-geospatial-news/statewide-parcel-database-of-wisconsin-now-available-online.html ) I am amazed by such a concept. All that being said, I am starting a open data journey in the state of Minnesota. Any input or feedback is greatly appreciated!